Format: For each club, four two-man teams; better ball, medal play; all four scores count. Sudden death tie breaker.

****Our Thanks To Plainfield

Plainfield, one of the most storied clubs in the country, will be our host for the 2018 Red Hoffman Cup Finals.

An early member of the competition (2006), Plainfield’s influence is obvious. Its then-captain Bob Corbett, suggested that we name our new event after Red Hoffman, New Jersey's golf writer laureate and member of their club, who had just died. We did so, and good karma has graced us ever since.

Almost immediately upon joining, the hospitality of Plainfield’s members and staff to its Hoffman Cup visitors raised the bar for all of us, and has so much to do with the highly regarded brand the Hoffman Cup enjoys today.

And, of course, the quality of its Donald Ross emerald is fully evident to the golfing world every time it hosts the Barclays, a major USGA event, and even the new team event led by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player this fall, the Junior Presidents Cup.

Thank you, Plainfield, for including us in the mix!

****The Red Hoffman Cup's New Point System

Starting this year, in the intragroup matches, the club that wins its match will receive 2 points; the losing club will receive 0 points. In the case of a tie, both clubs will receive 1 point. The points will be added up at the end of intragroup play to identify the group winner -- the club that will advance to the semifinals.

With this change, the Hoffman Cup ensures that the most deserving club tees off in the playoffs. Four times in the past five years, a club has won all three of its matches, yet not accrued the most points in its group -- therefore not moved onto the playoffs. Besides identifying the most deserving club, this rule change should encourage both closer matches and tighter intragroup competition.

For more details, please see the About/Rules section.

****By The Numbers

2 -- Years (2016 and 2017) that Morris County Golf Club has led all teams in donations to The First Tee.

2, 1, and 0 -- Starting in 2018, the points awarded for an intragroup, club vs. club win, tie and loss, respectively. The club with the best won / loss record goes to the playoffs.

14.5 -- The whopping difference between Navesink Country Club's 2016 point total (6.0) and its 2017 total (20.5); 2017's Most Improved Team!

24.9 -- The average number of points by intragroup winners since 2005. That is 8.3 out of 12 possible points per match.

32.5 -- The total number of points won in intragroup play (out of 36), by Arcola CC in 2017, a Hoffman Cup record.

60 -- The number of years Arthur K. "Red" Hoffman, long-time dean of New Jersey golf writers, covered New Jersey golf.

18 -- Arcola's winning score in 2017, the highest since Montclair GC's 220 in the 2009 Hoffman Cup Finals at Essex County CC

$102,000 -- In its first six years (2012-17), the amount generated by our team captains in support of our First Tee Initiative, which donates funds to support New Jersey's four local First Tee chapters.